Embedded Avionics

Green Hills Software to Provide Real-Time Multicore OS to Next-Generation Nav

By Staff Writer | July 17, 2017
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CNS DefaultGreen Hills Software has been selected by an unnamed U.S. commercial and military navigation equipment supplier to provide a real-time multicore operating system, the company said. The DO-178B Level A-compliant system is to be used for next-generation equipment, based on the Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC).

The system includes four Cortex-A53 64-bit cores, Green Hill Software said, which will run the company’s Integrity-178 time-variant unified multiprocessing (tuMP) operating system. The company said its customers using an ARMv8-based architecture require capabilities including full 64-bit operational support for all applications, the ability to execute symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and/or access module processor (AMP) applications on all four cores simultaneously, support for the latest ARINC-653 multicore partitioning requirements, a safety-critical internet protocol (IP) network stack that supports multiple IP clients at differing safety levels, and the ability to host applications that align with the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACETM) Technical Standard.

“We continue to recognize our aerospace customers’ requirement for significant reductions in size, weight and power (SWaP) using the latest 64-bit multicore technology such as that found in the Ultrascale+,” said Dan O’Dowd, founder and CEO of Green Hills Software. “However, in order to meet these SWaP objectives across the variety of multicore parts available today, an operating system must provide advanced functionality that allows users to maximize core efficiency and throughput while simultaneously meeting the software assurance requirements of RTCA/DO-178B Level A.”

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